musings about Washington, DC, and anywhere, and anything else (politics, food, the environment...)

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Being a Good Neighbor?

Dan Edelen has a gripe he wants to get off his chest--specifically, folks who drive out to the country to drop off kittens which resulted from failing to spay or neuter. He says, bluntly, that by carrying out such a drive-by drop-off, you're dooming Fluffy to a dismal fate, and that he's tired of seeing feline corpses litter his property and community. I'm surprised that people would go to such lengths to be so unthinking and inconsiderate, particularly as there are animal shelters in most communities, and many of them sponsor low-cost spay and neuter clinics.Conversely, as we've seen from recent cases of animal hoarding, you're not doing any favors by taking in lots of strays, especially when you won't have them neutered or spayed--you're just leaving (and ignoring) a mess to aggravate your neighbors and upset the police.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As gasoline prices remain stratospheric, there are useful driving strategies that help save gas (and wear and tear on your car). Some of these tips boil down to driving sanely and cautiously. Imagine that. (Not that you were saving much time anyway by imitating NASCAR drivers.) Perhaps by driving more cautiously, other drivers (and pedestrians) won't need to be afraid of you, because, unfortunately, people feel more unsafe driving today than they did five years ago. It's certainly impossible to take a nice, aimless "Sunday drive" anymore because of all the recklessness on the road.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Testament scholar Ben Witherington has a few pointers on How to Have a Cell Phone and still remain a Christian. (Hint: Blabbing on a cell phone oblivious to others while driving is NOT demonstrating any of the Christian virtues.)OK, that was the last of my rants for now. Now's the time to put into practice being neighborly.